Chemical weapons in Syria to be eliminated by mid-2014

November 06, 2013, 17:25 UTC+3Russian envoy: OPCW and UN worked in Syria successfully and professionally

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ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuev

GENEVA, November 6 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister said the task for eliminating chemical weapons in Syria would be carried out by the middle of 2014.

After the meetings with the Syrian opposition on Wednesday, Mikhail Bogdanov, who is Russian presidential special envoy for the Middle East, said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations worked in Syria successfully and professionally.

“The team works successfully. We don’t doubt that it will give an objective and professional assessment to the process,” the Russian diplomat said.

The timeframes are very strict. “As we realise the mission works ahead of schedule. We believe that the task will be carried out by the middle of next year,” Bogdanov said.

Meanwhile, Russia announced it is ready to increase humanitarian aid to Syria, Bogdanov said.

The Russian presidential special envoy for the Middle East said, “We’re providing such aid and we’ll continue doing this.”

Answering a question if the leader of Syrian Kurds asked for Russia’s humanitarian aid, the Russian diplomat said, “We’ve sent aircraft of the Emergency Situations Ministry, including for Kurds, who ‘were in deep water’.”